Part Two: Commentary Catagory of Voters: What is a Conservative vs Liberal?

by byte clay

In the world of economy, we all think we are conservators in that we dislike waste and abuse of natural resources such as clean air, clean water and not filling up the landfills with materials that may take a century to bio-degrade. The word conserve means to protect (something, especially an environmentally or culturally important place or thing) from harm or destruction. A liberal is one who is open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.

However, there may be some misconception as to what a Conservative voter might be. Many cross-mingles the word with Evangelical. In part one of this series, we see what an Evangelical really is and its connection to the Bible and Christianity.

When we think about conservation, protecting the land might come to mind. The Dust Bowl of the 1920s’ led up to the Great Depression where the land was over farmed and became dust. The United States Forestry Department’s job is to conserve and protect parks, and natural preserves.

The Sierra Club founded by Theodore Roosevelt is an organization concerned with conserving and preserving the environment.

Bringing it closer to home we see families who live on conservative budgets in order to meet their financial obligations and to provide savings for their future as well.

Based on the information above – how is the word Conservative connected to a group of voters and why is it important that candidates talk about the virtue of being conservative in government? Why is one political party considered a Conservative over the Liberal one? They even have their own colors; much like the high school and professional sports teams do. Many look at these parties in much the same way. If blue is your color, you are likely a member of the Democratic Party and if it is red, then your likely party will be Republican.

The Democratic Party leans more toward liberal principles while the Republican Party leans more toward conservative principles. They are more often labeled the left -for Democrats and the right – for Republicans.

An article written by the Student Daily news describes each as the following? “Liberals believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all. It is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. They believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems.”

They are in favor of the government playing a huge role in the everyday lives of the American people that may or might not coincide with the individual rights given to the citizenry as outlined in the US Constitution. Many believe that the Consitution is outdated and the country should become like European countries. (Many of which depend on the US for bailouts).

“Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.”

The divide between the two philosophies is a great one and like two opposing sport’s teams each side fights hard to win. And they use every means possible to “have it their way!” The national media outlets have come out “cheering” for one side or the other which often results in “tainted” or “slanted” news reporting.

The Student News Daily goes a fairly good job on their site of describing how each side differs on issues like: Abortion, Affirmative Action, Death Penalty, Economy, Education, Embryonic Stem Research, Energy, Euthanasia, Global Warming, Gun Control, Health Care, Homeland Security, Immigration, Private Property, Religion and Government, Same Sex Marriage, Social Security, Taxes, United Nations, War on Terror, and Welfare.

Knowledge is gained by education but wisdom is of God. Knowledge by education is of man – while wisdom is of the Creator of the universe. Scientists and educators learn from what others teach, but God created both the scientists and the science. The scientists can only discover what God has already created. It would behoove Americans to read what the Bible says about wisdom in casting their vote in the upcoming elections.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.(James 1:5)